Clothing alterations in Vietnam

Alterations here cover two things: adjustments to clothes a shop has made or sold you, and paid work on clothes you bring in. For the first, 75 of the 97 shops include adjustments until the fit is right. At Ếch Ộp Store in Hue, alterations on clothes bought in the shop are free, and the in-house tailor does them during the same visit, in anything from about 2 minutes to a couple of hours.

For clothes you already own, look for shops that take outside work. In Hoi An, Local Tailor alters clothes bought elsewhere and is known for trousers, Miss Forget Me Not does simple alterations in under 24 hours, and at Tailor No59 one reviewer had a torn skirt from another shop repaired for free. In Hanoi's Old Quarter, Nhà Sửa Chữa Y Phục Hòa hems or takes in jeans, repairs holes and replaces buttons or zips, quickly and cheaply. Also in Hanoi, Juan's Tailor alters clothes bought elsewhere.

Ask the price before you leave anything: at Tricia & Verona in Saigon one alteration on a vintage dress was quoted at $150. As for timing, the most common turnaround among these shops is the next day, at 12 of them, followed by 24 to 48 hours at 11.

Repairs and extra rounds can still go wrong. At Co May Tailor in Hoi An, the one 1-star review describes a patch repair on a shirt in mismatched fabric. In Hanoi, one customer's waistcoat at May vest đẹp Hà Nội still had a flaw after three alteration attempts and four fittings, and the order was cancelled and refunded after six weeks. When you order something new, ask whether extra fabric is left in the seams: one reviewer at Ngo Minh Tailor Hanoi says it was, for future alterations.